


Mortal Children and Water Falls Don't Mix

by Morpheus626



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-21
Updated: 2014-02-21
Packaged: 2018-01-13 05:34:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1214584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morpheus626/pseuds/Morpheus626
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aragorn does not often speak of his childhood, when he was known to most as the tiny mortal named Estel. And that might be how he would like it, but elves are good record-keepers and so every embarrassing tale from one's childhood is due to come to the light.  This is one of those stories (though it is far more embarrassing for the elves in charge than it is for Aragorn.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mortal Children and Water Falls Don't Mix

**Author's Note:**

> Nothing much to say on this fic--just a bit of fun and fluff while I work on some other darker ones and my original writing. I've wanted to do something with little!Aragorn/Estel for forever, so I'm happy to have this piece done.  
> I did try to stick to canon timeline, but it is entirely possible I messed up somewhere, so it wouldn't be wrong to consider this a piece with UAs, or universe alterations. 
> 
> None of these characters belong to me of course, I'm just borrowing them for a bit of fun.
> 
> As always, if you'd like to contact me outside of AO3 my tumblr is: www.itsalwaysprettiestafterthefall.tumblr.com. I have also opened drabble requests, so feel free to message me if there's anything you'd like to see me write a quick bit for :)

“The mortal child has climbed to the top of the falls.” Lord Elrond stared down his two sons, alike as always, evident even more so when they wore the same grimace of regret. 

“All you were asked to do was to keep him busy. He is young, and you could have kept him entertained indoors. What made you think an adventure outside was a good idea?” 

Neither of his sons spoke, though both had the good sense to look even more miserable about the whole thing. 

“Have you figured out how you are going to rescue him?” 

At this, Elrohir raised his head. “Yes. Sort of. That is—“ 

“You’ve already sent Glorfindel up to retrieve him.” Elrond sighed heavily. Once again he was in Glorfindel’s debt, for saving his sons from nearly killing their foster brother. Which would mean Glorfindel would want a few days to himself, which would mean a few days where Lindir’s workload would have to be increased, to cover the tasks Glorfindel was normally in charge of, which would mean more vacation for Lindir, and that in turn would mean at least a few days where he would have to juggle several different jobs all at once. 

“Yes. But we’ve not heard back from him yet, which is a tad unusual…” Elladan mumbled nervously, his eyes still boring a hole into the floor as he refused to meet his father’s gaze. 

“We’ll go to see how they are then. I imagine a two-year-old mortal can’t be a difficult challenge for him; certainly easier than a Balrog…” Elrond let his sons lead to the ledge Estel had clambered onto, via the small steps that his sons had carved into the stone themselves when they were young. It wasn’t as high as he had expected, and certainly wasn’t the very top of the falls as his sons had clearly exaggerated, but he didn’t relish having the mortal child lounging even that far above the ground. 

And it was an interesting sight to take in: Glorfindel, on hands and knees, quietly attempting to lure Estel back down the set of stairs, and gasping in frustration and fear every time the little one seemed to toddle too near the edge of the ledge. Estel, for his part, seemed to think of the whole thing as a very fun new game, and had started to giggle at every word Glorfindel said. 

“I did not think this would be a difficult task for you, Glorfindel. Granted, it should not have been yours to begin with, but then it seems the task should not have belonged to my sons either.” Elrond called up to Glorfindel, who was clearly losing patience with the situation. 

Elladan and Elrohir went red at that, and scuffed their feet in the dirt as they muttered their apologies for what was nearly the thousandth time. Elrond nearly turned to tell them to hush, that he had forgiven them by now, after all they didn’t have children of their own and weren’t used to dealing with them and Estel was, after all, a rather overly brave and adventurous child…but he forgot to say any of it when Estel nearly tumbled off the edge. 

At the last second the toddler slipped onto his backside in the muck, and giggled happily as Glorfindel sat mumbling a variety of curses under his breath at the near loss. By now, a good number of elves had gathered to watch the show and were providing a rather annoying chorus of gasps and murmurs at each new development. Elrond had had quite enough of it all. 

“Glorfindel, come down. I’ll get him.” Elrond sighed again (and it seemed there were so many more days now where it seemed he might sigh all of the air from his lungs in exasperation.) Lindir bounded up behind him, robes askew and aflutter. 

“My lord, let me. After all, I would have been looking after him if you hadn’t agreed to the day off, which I did greatly appreciate.” Lindir’s eyes were trained on Estel, who had pulled himself back to his feet and was peering carefully over the edge of the ledge at the speeding water below. The worry was plain in his eyes, that his young charge might be injured or killed all in the name of a day of relaxation. 

However, Elrond decided he was quite done with that as well. Lindir did far more than what his job required, and was incredibly stressed by a great deal of it regardless of how well he did his work—it wasn’t fair to Lindir to let this ruin one of his few days away from all of that. 

“No, that’s quite alright Lindir. I can retrieve him, or should hope that I can. If he’ll not come down for me then we may well assume that he is intending to live on that ledge, and can only provide proper comforts to him at that point.” Elrond smiled as he heard Lindir fail to choke away his laughter at the comment. His staff really didn’t smile enough, and it seemed that was his fault. He would need to remedy that. 

But first, there was a small, mortal trouble-maker who needed to be rescued. Glorfindel carefully slipped off of the set of carved stairs, and moved away so Elrond could attempt to traipse up them himself. Of course, they were wet from the falls and mossy and Elrond was a bit disappointed with himself in that he had let his own sons continue to use such a dangerous area when they were young. He managed to reach top of them however, grateful that there were so few to begin with, and held out a hand towards Estel. 

The child waved happily at him, and pointed down towards the falls, babbling happily in a mix of the common tongue and Sindarin. It would have been adorable, if it weren’t for the imminent danger staring them in the face. 

“Estel, we need to come down from here now. Your mother is very worried about you being so high up.” Which was a lie, at least for the time being. She had been napping in her quarters, grateful for a day without a set of tiny grubby hands constantly grabbing at her, but if she hadn’t woken and seen what was happening by now then Elrond would be amazed. 

From the ground, Lindir called up to them. “Estel, if you come down now I can convince the kitchens to let us have dessert early.” A lovely promise which usually worked, but now only succeeded in making the tiny mortal upset. 

Estel plopped himself down in the moss and crossed his tiny arms across his chest, shaking his head ‘no’ rather violently. Elrond was tempted to just grab him and try and wrestle his way back down, with what would no doubt be a struggling and squirming Estel in his arms, when there was a soft peal of laughter from the crowd nearest the stairs. 

Lindir moved aside as Gilraen strode forth, the edges of her gown nearly soaked from the water covering the stone pathway. She was smiling, of all things, and looked far less concerned than Elrond had expected her to. 

“Estel, what are you doing up there?” She called up to him. 

Her son responded happily, rising shakily to his feet and gesticulating wildly with his tiny hands towards the falls. 

“So that was it then. You wanted to see the water and the twins couldn’t figure it out? So you went to it yourself, didn’t you? My brave boy—such an adventurer! But Elrond is right love; you need to come down now.” Her voice was soothing, just as a mother’s voice should be, and Estel was seemingly entranced into reaching over to Elrond to be picked up. 

The child was more than happy to be held now, and wrapped his tiny arms tight around his foster father’s neck in an odd hug. His hair and clothes were near-soaked, having been so long in the mist from the falls. Gilraen watched as Elrond carefully walked back down the stairs, holding on tightly to Estel—he would nearly dare to say that Gilraen was more fearsome than Galadriel when angered, and he could see now that despite her smile she was furious. 

He handed Estel over carefully, who still didn’t seem to recognize that anything was wrong and happily giggled as he was placed in his mother’s arms. She said nothing to Elrond, but her face told him quite clearly that he would be hearing more from her about this. He could prepare for that, though it would be easier if he could convince Lindir to stay in the room—he could pass along what happened to the twins, who would then hopefully understand better why it was so important to look after the tiny child that had seemingly taken over Imladris. And they did understand, but in the way youth does with traditions started long ago—in a manner of looking back, without really being able to see the old paths for themselves, but trying so hard to see nonetheless. 

Dinner passed in silence. Lindir was the most successful in moving the meal forward, sighing dramatically as he filled and refilled the twins’ plates (who seemed almost too guilty to eat, almost) and passed dishes of food to Gilraen, who otherwise did not seem to want to eat much herself. Estel, on the other hand, proceeded to cover himself in mashed potatoes and bits of broccoli, and was incredibly proud for it, smiling wide to everyone as he flung vegetables across the table. 

Lindir was also the one who prompted everyone to leave, and handed Estel over to Glorfindel for safe-keeping while Elrond and Gilraen spoke. She glared at Lindir when he did not leave, but did not force him to go either. Elrond was grateful for that small mercy. 

Lindir’s presence could only help so much though, and even Lindir flinched when he accidently met Gilraen’s gaze. 

“My son could have died today.” She was matter of fact, her anger held somewhere just under the surface of her words, and Elrond would rather have heard her yell than have such a simpering glare trained on him. 

“It is not enough to apologize, but I will nonetheless. I am sorry. My boys were reckless, though they should know better by now. I will see to it that Estel stays under my care or Lindir’s from here on out, until you give permission for others to see to his care as well.” It wasn’t much, but it was all he could offer. The loss of her husband was still raw, and he couldn’t take that hurt away—losing a spouse was not an easy thing, wasn’t meant to be easy. He knew that better than most. 

Gilraen searched his gaze for a moment. “They mean well. I know they do, but—“ 

“Worry not my lady, for they know your mind better than you might assume.” Lindir piped up from the corner. 

Gilraen and Elrond both turned and looked at him in confusion. 

Lindir sighed. “Elladan, Elrohir. Please come out from behind the shrubs; I mean really it was adorable when you were young but now…” 

“And where else would you have us hide?” Elladan grumbled. 

“I would rather I did not have to continue to babysit either of you for the duration of our lives. I know you can care for yourselves outside of our walls but I don’t know what happens when you two come back…” Lindir trailed off as Elrond raised an eyebrow in amusement. Gilraen’s normally stiff disposition had dropped a bit, and she snickered quietly behind her hand. 

“Well. As I said, here they are, quite aware of all that’s been said. So..erm.” Lindir stumbled across his words and looked to Elrond despairingly. 

He had only to look to his sons for them to offer up their apologies once more. “We are very sorry. He’s quite adventurous and so were we—“ Elladan started. 

“and so I suppose we did not think more to his safety, since he was doing no worse than we did. We are truly sorry.” Elrohir finished. 

“Truly.” Elladan added, looking hopefully between Elrond and Gilraen for reprieve. 

Gilraen spent a moment or two in silent contemplation of their apology. Then, she swept past them and out the door, in the direction of the kitchen. 

Elrond placed a hand on each of their shoulders. It wouldn’t do any good to have them hound after her in hopes of forgiveness. She would forgive if and when she was ready, and that was how it should be. Lindir sighed in relief as the tension drained from the room. Just as they all started to leave did Gilraen stalk back into the room, an egg in each hand. 

She handed an egg to each twin, and looked quite pleased with herself. Elladan and Elrohir were the picture of puzzlement. 

“You need to learn more responsibility with children and delicate things, and since neither of you are courting and may not have children for some time I thought these eggs would be good substitute.” Gilraen smiled as Lindir and Elrond looked on. 

“But that is an egg and Estel is certainly not comparable to an e—“ Lindir gasped as Elrond strode to his side and jabbed him hard in the ribs. “What on earth was that for?” 

“Let her experiment play out. I would like to think it will benefit the twins, and if nothing else it will be entertaining to watch them.” 

Gilraen turned and grinned wider still. “We are of the same mind then, Elrond. I am glad to see it. At least a week, perhaps, changing the eggs each day of course?” 

Lindir started again. “Well, I don’t know if the cooks will—“ He was jabbed again for his trouble. 

“The cooks will have no quarrel with it as I have given my approval. If they have questions they may speak to Gilraen or myself. I look forward to seeing how those eggs will fare during guard duty and sparring practice, and I expect the two of you to do well.” Elrond smiled as the twins looked down in a panic to the eggs in their hands. 

“Ada, there is no way…” Elladan ran a finger carefully over the shell of the egg, imagining it smashed to bits and pieces after an encounter with orcs or after a spar with his brother. Elrohir merely nodded in agreement. 

"I will give you a hint then. When I go somewhere Estel cannot, or must do something that would be too dangerous for Estel to be near, what do I do with him?” Gilraen was teasing now, barely keeping from giggling. 

“Lindir!” Elrohir crowed happily, and smiled at the elf who seemed to be trying to disappear into the wall. 

“No, I am not going to look after _eggs _alongside Estel. A child is work enough why should I—oh bother, stop looking so pathetic. Fine, I will watch the eggs while you spar or are on duty, so long as our Lord Elrond will agree to look after Estel during those times.” Lindir crossed his arms and smirked as Elrond panicked just a bit.__

__It would be a bit difficult to move meetings around the guard schedule, but he would have to try. And not to mention if there were unexpected guests—but if he had to greet guests with Estel in his arms, then he would. If anything, most unannounced guests tended to be tired and frustrated, and the sight of the usually happy though quiet Estel might be calming to them. Or so he could hope._ _

____

“I see nothing wrong with such an agreement. So long as you are agreeable to it as well, Gilraen.” Elrond looked to her, and she nodded her consent. 

____

“Now that we have settled that, perhaps we ought to go rescue Glorfindel from my son’s terrorizing.” Gilraen skirts danced across the floor as she moved past Lindir, who still looked rather triumphant at his work in the matter. They followed after her, a task which became all the easier when Glorfindel’s cries became louder. 

____

For the second time in one day Glorfindel found himself in an uncomfortable position, though much less dangerous. Gilraen had just barely stifled her laughter at the sight: the two were sat on the floor of Estel’s nursery, and Estel was clearly attempting to braid Glorfindel’s hair. He brandished a hair brush in one tiny hand, and a length of thin leather in the other, dead set on braiding and tying back his care-taker’s now mangled mane. 

____

Elrond was proud of himself for not laughing until he had moved out of the doorway, though it was a bit of a challenge. Lindir kept his composure surprisingly well, though Elrond imagined it was more so he could capture the moment mentally than save Glorfindel from any extra laughter. His sons ended up by his side, laughing gently so as not to jostle the egg they each still held. When they had composed themselves they returned to the doorway to see Gilraen’s rescue attempt. 

____

“I’m sure Master Glorfindel is quite pleased with his hair Estel, but it is well past bed-time. For you and for our kind Glorfindel.” She smiled as Glorfindel stood and felt at the back of his hair. 

____

“Yes, this is quite…lovely, Estel. Thank you.” 

____

The little one babbled happily in response, and Glorfindel took that as his right to leave. “Oh stop laughing you. We’ll see how funny it is when he does the same to you.” 

____

Elrond realized he did not worry about such things though. For all the trouble the child got in, it was worth it. Trouble-making at this age only showed how lively and brave Estel might grow to be, though it wasn’t something that could be allowed to get out of hand as he grew. He stayed at the doorway and watched as Gilraen put her son to bed. He sent his own sons off to bed with a few gentle words, and Lindir trotted after them, to be sure that they would not leave their boots in the hall if nothing else. 

____

“I worry about him too much sometimes, don’t I?” Gilraen whispered as she stepped away from her son’s bed. Estel had settled down surprisingly quickly, and seemed to just barely notice his mother’s leaving. 

____

Elrond shook his head. “You worry about him as much as a mother should. I worry no less about the twins and Arwen.” 

____

“But I can’t shield him from it, can I? From anything that might come to pass..” Gilraen’s eyes were glued to her son as he slept. She’d probably end up sleeping on the floor of the room again, scaring the life out of Lindir when he came to rouse Estel the next day. Elrond couldn’t begrudge her the habit though, since he’d nearly done the same thing with his children after Celebrían had left. Even now he struggled to have Arwen far from home, even if she was safe with Galadriel and Celeborn—he couldn’t help but want the family together. 

____

“No parent can keep their child from the world forever. I think Estel will be more than capable on his own, however. We need not let such worries consume us.” Elrond turned to leave Gilraen with her son and her thoughts. 

____

“Arwen is quite capable as well, Elrond. If I am to worry less, then you should set the example.” Gilraen smiled gently from the doorway to Estel’s room. 

____

Elrond didn’t stop to acknowledge her words, but Gilraen knew he had heard. The great Lord of Imladris held his hurts close to himself, just as she did. Neither of them would show their pain, if they could help it. But kind words could help nonetheless. 

____

Gilraen turned back to the room and watched her son sleep. If the days ahead were to be as dark as she feared, then they would all need kind words to help them find comfort.

____


End file.
